Most of Norway’s strength in the field of advanced marine operations is concentrated within an hour’s drive from the picturesque town of Ålesund on the country’s west coast. The region is home for an impressive constellation of over 220 leading maritime companies and training, research and finance institutions that form one of very few complete maritime clusters in the world.

The maritime cluster in Møre consists of more than 210 companies which design, build, equips and operate advanced vessels for the oil-based industry globally. The aim is to gain recognition as the world’s leading and most innovative knowledge and expertise cluster within the next 10 years within advanced maritime operations.

Due to its leading position and its strong global presence, the cluster was awarded the prestigious status as Global Centre of Expertise – Blue Maritime by the Norwegian government. Over 75% of the world’s large, hi-tech offshore vessels are designed there. 40% of the world’s most advanced offshore fleet is controlled by the region’s ship-owners.

The cluster operates globally and its companies and products are known world-wide. While most of the companies of the cluster are home-bread, an increasing number of major international players, such as Rolls-Royce Marine, Inmarsat, V.Ships, VARD or Bourbon, are seeking their place in the cluster.

World’s most advanced offshore simulator centre

OSC is the world’s most advanced provider of simulators for demanding offshore operations. The centre is able to achieve this due to high level operational know-how from the maritime cluster in Norway mixed with advanced computer technology, sophisticated mathematical models and state of the art 3D graphics display systems. This includes complete offshore vessel bridges with all relevant controls and systems.

Using intelligent software and interfaces, the technology is able to produce solutions where one can change the vessel’s environment including altering the weather, winds, waves and time of day at the touch of a button.

About GCE NODE

The Global Centre of Expertise NODE is comprised of 72 companies in the Southern part of Norway – Sørlandet. All companies are in some way suppliers to the global energy and maritime industries developing and supplying technology and systems for offshore drilling and platform operations within the oil and gas sector globally.

NODE stands for Norwegian Offshore and Drilling Equipment, and companies in the cluster operate in three major market niches – offshore drilling, offshore loading and offloading, mooring and anchoring, and active heave compensated cranes.

GCE NODE is among the top 10 percent of European gold labeled clusters and one of the two first Norwegian business clusters promoted to a Global Center of Expertise.

The centre has a strong commitment to research, development and innovation in joint projects that will benefit the cluster and the region. Focus areas for RD&I are materials, mechatronics, ICT and business.

Emilie Nsien (NODE Eyde Women) at the GCE NODE stand at Career Day at Campus Grimstad in February.

Business Development Lab Program

This program for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in GCE NODE aims to strengthen SME’s through identification of new markets for existing technologies, focus on internationalization and review of marketing strategy and business plans.

The project offers a course for second year MBA-students at the University of Agder with 10 full-day sessions and placement in companies. The course focuses on strategic business development with emphasis on the cluster’s main markets. With funding from Sørlandets Kompetansefond, the project will start in the fall semester 2015.

GCE Subsea’s main hub, the Coast Center Base, is located in Ågotnes, west of Bergen, the second largest city in Norway. Bergen is the subsea capital of the world in terms of service, maintenance, operation and monitoring. The accumulated expertise offered by companies in the region is second to none globally.

The centre brings together the Norwegian subsea industry and promotes its further development by increasing innovation.

Norway’s subsea industry has succeeded due to hard work, innovation and collaboration. Over time its companies and R&D institutions have developed great expertise that enables the local businesses to challenge each other and face common issues together.

At present, there are some 150 subsea-related companies in the region alone. Several of these are also active in the more traditional oil and gas segment. In 2011, these companies employed just under 4,500 people and had a turnover of over NOK 60 billion. The cluster comprises everything from multi-billion corporations to companies with only a few employees.

Active participation in UTC

This year, the Underwater Technology Conference (UTC) will feature a new format for Day Zero, offering a nice warm-up to the main conference. The programme for Day Zero, 14 June, will include two parallel sessions in the afternoon.

Day Zero will be hosted in collaboration between the Underwater Technology Foundation (UTF), GCE Subsea and DNB.

The GCE Programme

In 2014 Innovation Norway, SIVA and the Research Council of Norway announced the establishment of a new Norwegian programme for cluster development.

The existing programmes Arena and Norwegian Centres of Expertise (NCE) are continued and a third level was established with the Global Centre of Expertise. The three programs constitute the different levels in the Norwegian Innovation Cluster program.

The Global Centre of Expertise is an industry initiative that works to strengthen and internationalize businesses, R&D and education in the field. The programme has a ten-year perspective and is financed by the Norwegian government.

The number of centres is limited so that they can focus their efforts on strengthening ongoing innovation and internationalization processes in the most modern, sustainable and ambitious industrial clusters in Norway.

In June 2015, NCE Subsea was awarded the status Global Centre of Expertise (GCE) and the company name was changed to GCE Subsea.

UTC is the world’s oldest subsea conference. Since 1980, the conference is arranged in Bergen, base of Norway’s subsea industry.

The conference expects 900 professionals and 60 exhibitors to attend its 22nd edition, from (14) 15 to 16 June.

Introducing a new Day Zero Program

This year, UTC will feature a new format for Day Zero, offering a nice warm-up to the main conference in Grieghallen, Bergen. Day Zero will be hosted in collaboration with valued partners GCE Subsea and DNB.

The program for Day Zero, June 14th, will consist of two parallel sessions in the afternoon; one focusing on Subsea Market Outlook and Investor Perspective, and the other focusing on Subsea R&D and Innovation for the future – presenting the new Global Subsea University Alliance.

UTCs core asset is the high quality technical program. Still, in the current market climate, a deeper insight into both market and RDI is of interest to both engineers, economists and academics. The conference invites them to meet and share their thoughts for the future.

The important issues deserves a more extensive attention than what it is possible to include in the format of the main conference program. This year the seminars will replace the traditional UTC field trips, and will take place at USF Verftet, where the Icebreaker will be arranged in the evening. The full conference program is not available yet.

Innovation Norway invites Norwegian companies to participate at the Norwegian pavilion at Rio Oil & Gas 2016. Applications shall be sent within May 25th. Click here to register.

Rio Oil & Gas Expo and Conference is recognized as the leading oil and gas industry event in Latin America being a prominent place for networking, discussing major technological issues and promoting innovative ideas.

Make your company visible at the most important Oil & Gas show in Latin America!

Even in the current challenging market conditions, Brazil still is and will continue to be one of the main offshore oil and gas market for Norwegian companies with international ambitions.

We also see interesting changes with regards to important energy framework policies, and the market landscape and players are changing and repositioning as well. Thus, it is important to be present and learn about the market developments and meet potential partners and clients.

Also, IBP will evolve Rio Oil & Gas further into an even better arena for exchange of opinions, learning about current topics and meeting the relevant people.

Brand Norway

The Norwegian brand is associated with excellent quality and professionalism and customers seek the pavilion in search of innovative Norwegian solutions.

During the week, other Brazilian-Norwegian activities will take place as well, such as the NBCC Rio Oil and Gas Network Dinner and various seminars and workshops.

The Norwegian Pavilion

The Norwegian pavilion is located in hall nr. 4, close to Petrobras. This year, we have obtained more attractive space than ever before. Space will be allocated by first come, first served. Please be aware that we are not able to confirm your location until later.

By organizing a Norwegian Pavilion, a seminar and networking activities, Innovation Norway’s aim is to enhance the promotion of Norway as the best business partner in Brazil. INTSOK is prepared to support partners individually on their visit to Brazil and Rio Oil & Gas.

Participation fee

The participation-fee will be settled when the list of exhibitors and need of space is final. Preliminary price estimate is NOK 10.000-10.500 per sqm. The price increase is due to changes in the exchange rate only (USD/NOK). We would like to emphasize that this is a nonprofit project for Innovation Norway.

The fee includes:

Stand space

Building/construction/mantling/dismantling

Furniture, lighting, power, carpet, logo (package deal)

Exhibitor passes, catalogue/web entry

Customers common areas including a lounge

Joint Norwegian profiling and common costs

Travel costs, additional equipment or individual decorations of the booth at your own cost.

Brazil and the European Union signed a cooperation agreement on February 23rd aiming to develop the next generation of communication network, known as 5G technology.

Brazil has 180 million broad band mobile access points, and this number is steadily growing at a fast pace. The Brazilian Minister of Communications, André Figueiredo, mentioned that the country needs new technologies that are able to overcome present challenges, as larger download and upload rates, enhanced network coverage and more reliable connection.

4G technology is not yet a reality outside large urban centers. Also, analogue TV will keep using 700 MHz frequency in the upcoming years. However, that should not be a great obstacle for the initial tests of the 5g technology to start taking place. The goal now is to make 5G technology available for commercial operation by 2020, and it naturally involves a lot of work.

Questioned if that would be late if compared to other countries and regions that are aiming to implement the same technology before, the minister pointed it does not necessarily mean that tools using 5G are only going to be operative by 2020, as this is an ongoing process. “It is an evolution process until those tools become commercially available to the population”. The minister also highlighted this is not going to represent an abandon of the 4G once they are different technologies that use unlike frequencies. “We are also working to improve 4G technology”, added the minister.

Focus on standardization, research and development

The collaboration between Brazil and the European Union in the ICT industry started in 2008. Since then, eight assemblies have been conducted approaching this area of cooperation. Last year, Telebras announced a joint venture to connect Europe and South America by a new submarine cable.

The memorandum of understanding signed in February includes collaboration on the creation of common regulations and the standardization of 5G in addition to the identification of globally harmonized spectrum bands. The focus is strongly pushed towards private and public research and development of new, innovative technologies.

In the upcoming years, the new network generation is going to be used in public services, industrial applications, cars, smart houses, among several other areas. The cooperation agreement aims also to include the application of 5G technology in smart cities, agribusiness, healthcare, education, transportation, public services, energy and video streaming.

Preliminary tests start to be scheduled

Currently, Ericsson is engaged in research projects together with the Federal University of Ceará (UFC). The project aims to map the real conditions in which systems will be used both by the society and the industry.

The Swedish company is also going to run tests in Brazil together with América Móvil, which owns Claro, one of the major carriers in the country.

Brazilian and Norwegian public institutions have developed a cooperation framework aiming to strengthen the commercial ties between the two countries. In the picture, Rune Andersen, Counsellor for Science and Technology at The Research Council of Norway/Innovation Norway. Photo: Runa Hestmann.

On March 1-2, the BN21 Workshop took place in Rio de Janeiro arranged by Finep, the Norwegian Consulate General and The Research Council of Norway in close cooperation with BNDES, Innovation Norway and INTSOK.

Here are some of the presentations from the BN21 Workshop, which took place on March 1-2.

Session 1 – The public innovation system: structure of the new financial support conditions